It was an early start, my alarm went off at 5:30am so that I could get breakfast at 6 and get on the coach for 6:20am. We were the first pick up so there were a lot more stops making it hard to nap! Eventually, the driver turned down the lights and we had two hours of uninterrupted sleep... which was well needed! Our first stop was in a small town called Te Anau, where we dropped off a few people going to Doubtful Sound and picked up a few more people coming to Milford. I also managed to have a long over due catch up with my mumma which is always lovely!
We then made our way down the long winding highway to get to Milford Sound. Our first stop was at the beautiful Eglinton Valley, which was once filled with a glacier. Kirsten and I had previously taken quite a few awkward selfies over the past couple of days, mainly so we could fit a mountain or lake in the background, so we decided to keep up this tradition here!
I think Kirsten had most of the other awkward selfies so when I get a hold of them (and if I remember) I'll pop them on here as well!
Our next stop was at the mirrored lake, we were super lucky that the water was very calm so it looked amazing! As it was a short walk, our driver dropped us off at one end and picked us up at the other. It was here that Kirsten, Emma and I noticed that there were quite a few people who spend a lot of time taking 50 billion trillion photos of the same place with slightly different angles and lighting. We pretty much got off, took a photo, appreciated the view and got back on! There was a particular pair of men who would get off first and get on last... the bus driver had to chase them down a few times!
We then stopped over at a view point overlooking the beautiful mountains and river. Our driver kept telling us that he personally felt the fiordland is even more stunning when it rains as there are tons and tons of waterfalls consuming the mountains, and this creates the sparkling rainbows, making there whole place seem magical. So I would definitely like to come back on a rainy day.
We had some time before going though the Homer Tunnel so stopped to look at the glacier and surrounding mountains. It wasn't long before we had to all jump back on the coach, although we nearly didn't make it as one of the guys saw a Kea and 'couldn't resist taken a few photos of it'! The lights are green for 7 and a half minutes so we were on a very limited time slot so driver wasn't too happy about that!
After ten more minutes of driving, we finally made it to the Milford Sound terminal. We boarded our bright orange boat, greeted by the smell of the fish and chips cooking. We started off on the top deck and absorbed the incredible sights around us.
About fifteen minutes into the cruise, we were called down to grab our complimentary fish and chips. We raced down to grab them but just before we were about to go down to the kitchen, the captain announced that we were cruising past a pod of dolphins. Food vs dolphins was a tough choice but ultimately the food could wait so I raced to the bow and sure enough there were about fifteen bottlenose dolphins and also two fur seals swimming around our boat. It was incredible to see! Unfortunately it took me too long to get my camera out so I only have a mediocre picture of their fins but I'll never forget how amazing that experience was!
After a few minutes I decided I couldn't wait any longer for food so I went and grabbed the fish and chips. We sat inside and watched the dolphins playing out the window. Truly amazing.
We then made our way out onto the Tasmanian Sea and we were all desperately searching for whales, as apparently there is a mum and baby orca around these parts. But unfortunately we didn't get to see them today.
On our way back to the terminal, we passed a rock covered in fur seals. Even the captain seemed surprised to see them as they are pretty rare - most of the colonies were wiped out due to humans hunting them and the numbers have only recently started to rise again. However the highlight for me was Emma looking around saying 'I can't see any!' Turns out she just thought the seals were brown blobs on the rocks!
After leaving the seals behind, the captain took the boat into the waterfall. As it was a hot day it was pretty refreshing... until we stayed there for a bit longer than anticipated then I started to get freezing! It didn't take long to warm up after though!
We then got back to the terminal and got off the boat and back on the coach. We stopped off at the same place before the tunnel and the Keas were still there so it was pretty awesome to see them up close.
Monkey creek was the next places we stopped at, because everyone took too long at the other places before we got to Milford we didn't get a chance to stop before hand. The water in the creek is fed by the glacier so the water is icy cold and pure so I filled up my water bottle there!
The drive back was long but ultimately it was definitely worth it. It was such a magical day and Milford Sound is so beautiful, I really hope I can make it back in the colder months.
We had some time before going though the Homer Tunnel so stopped to look at the glacier and surrounding mountains. It wasn't long before we had to all jump back on the coach, although we nearly didn't make it as one of the guys saw a Kea and 'couldn't resist taken a few photos of it'! The lights are green for 7 and a half minutes so we were on a very limited time slot so driver wasn't too happy about that!
After ten more minutes of driving, we finally made it to the Milford Sound terminal. We boarded our bright orange boat, greeted by the smell of the fish and chips cooking. We started off on the top deck and absorbed the incredible sights around us.
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About fifteen minutes into the cruise, we were called down to grab our complimentary fish and chips. We raced down to grab them but just before we were about to go down to the kitchen, the captain announced that we were cruising past a pod of dolphins. Food vs dolphins was a tough choice but ultimately the food could wait so I raced to the bow and sure enough there were about fifteen bottlenose dolphins and also two fur seals swimming around our boat. It was incredible to see! Unfortunately it took me too long to get my camera out so I only have a mediocre picture of their fins but I'll never forget how amazing that experience was!
After a few minutes I decided I couldn't wait any longer for food so I went and grabbed the fish and chips. We sat inside and watched the dolphins playing out the window. Truly amazing.
We then made our way out onto the Tasmanian Sea and we were all desperately searching for whales, as apparently there is a mum and baby orca around these parts. But unfortunately we didn't get to see them today.
On our way back to the terminal, we passed a rock covered in fur seals. Even the captain seemed surprised to see them as they are pretty rare - most of the colonies were wiped out due to humans hunting them and the numbers have only recently started to rise again. However the highlight for me was Emma looking around saying 'I can't see any!' Turns out she just thought the seals were brown blobs on the rocks!
After leaving the seals behind, the captain took the boat into the waterfall. As it was a hot day it was pretty refreshing... until we stayed there for a bit longer than anticipated then I started to get freezing! It didn't take long to warm up after though!
We then got back to the terminal and got off the boat and back on the coach. We stopped off at the same place before the tunnel and the Keas were still there so it was pretty awesome to see them up close.
Monkey creek was the next places we stopped at, because everyone took too long at the other places before we got to Milford we didn't get a chance to stop before hand. The water in the creek is fed by the glacier so the water is icy cold and pure so I filled up my water bottle there!
The drive back was long but ultimately it was definitely worth it. It was such a magical day and Milford Sound is so beautiful, I really hope I can make it back in the colder months.
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